When Commander William T. Riker from the Enterprise arrives on Deep Space 9, he takes a liking to Kira, who gives him a tour of the Defiant. But Riker is revealed to be not who he claims to be when he attacks Kira and steals the ship.

Contents

MajorKira Nerys is having a bad day, swamped with the little details of running a station. She snaps at DoctorBashir when he starts complaining to her about Campor III. Realizing that she is stressed from overwork he orders her to take time off. Bashir takes Kira to Quark's and tells her to enjoy herself. She is not alone for long as CommanderRiker asks to join her.

Riker tells CommanderSisko that he is on vacation and wanted to visit the station again before continuing on to Risa. Down in Ops, LieutenantDax notices that Kira is preoccupied by a certain Commander, though she doesn't want to admit it. When Riker comes out, Dax makes a reference to their last meeting in Quark's which he does not remember until she reminds him.

Riker hangs around the Promenade waiting for Kira to get off duty so he can arrange to "accidentally" run into her. Hesitant at first, she offers him a tour of the station and then at his suggestion, she agrees to show him the USS Defiant. Kira enters an access code to enter the Defiant.

They find ChiefMiles O'Brien working on the bridge and Riker is not happy to see him, implying that they have had some falling out. O'Brien is stunned by Riker's cold demeanor. He has no idea what he has done to offend his former first officer but excuses himself rather than intrude on the two of them. Kira, too, is surprised but does not press when Riker says he does not want to talk about it.

She shows him the modifications they have made to the ship's systems. Riker asks to access them at the tactical station and, obligingly, Kira uses her authorization code to release the bridge lockout. This is what Riker wanted and he then stuns Kira with a phaser. While she is unconscious, he arranges for Tamal and Kalita to beam aboard.

A red alert sounds in Ops as the computer shows an imminent warp core breach on the Defiant. Riker contacts them, saying there was an accident and Kira was injured and that if they release the docking clamps, he will take the helm of the Defiant and clear it away from the station. Sisko agrees and will beam them out when they are clear. O'Brien arrives, responding to the red alert. When Sisko orders him to beam Riker and Kira out, O'Brien cannot because the Defiant's shields are up. Before any of them can react, the Defiant goes to warp.

GulDukat is summoned to a briefing where Odo explains how a transporter accident created a duplicate of Riker on Nervala IV. He finds it amusing until they tell him that they suspect Thomas Riker is with the Maquis, having made his support of them clear while serving on the USS Gandhi. Dukat is furious that such a dangerous weapon may now be used to attack Cardassia. Sisko proposes a joint search mission of the Demilitarized Zone, but Dukat says Central Command would use this incident as an excuse to eradicate the Maquis instead. Starfleet would then send a fleet to protect the colonies. War seems inevitable. Sisko agrees to go with Dukat to Cardassia Prime and help them find the Defiant, and if necessary, destroy it.

Riker apologizes to Kira for the deception but he will not be deterred. The Defiant meets with other Maquis ships. They transfer over a crew and then they all head for the Cardassian border.

Dukat orders the fleet to give chase as the Defiant flees back to the Demilitarized Zone, but Sisko realizes that the warp signature is wrong, it is a decoy. Dukat recalls Toran's ships but it is too late. The real Defiant uncloaks and destroys Outpost 47, before cloaking again, its heading takes them into the heart of the Cardassian Union. Korinas leaves with a parting shot at Dukat.

Riker sets a course for Omekla III and its shipyards, but Kira has sabotaged the cloak.

Tamal treats Kira's injuries. Riker takes her to the bridge where they can keep an eye on her. While they repair the damage she caused, they hide in a nearby nebula.

Sisko plots strategy but Dukat is distracted. This is his son Mekor's 11th birthday and he wanted his father to take him to an amusement center at Lakarian City. Instead his son will remember this day with hatred.

Kira sees that their target is the Omekla III shipyards. Riker tells her that they had been getting reports that there were Cardassian hardliners wanting to scrap the peace treaty. They were secretly building up an invasion fleet in the Orias system. Kira tries to reach him, he is still more Starfleet officer than resistance fighter.

Korinas reports that the Defiant has destroyed the Omekla shipyards, a weapons depot in the Dameron system and a communications relay on the Rokat colony. Sisko believes that these are not random attacks but are designed to relocate the fleet while they react and continue to search. Tactical displays now show the Orias system undefended. Dukat is about to have Gul Ranor send a ship when Korinas threatens him if he does. The system is under the Obsidian Order's protection and they will defend it.

Dukat has checked up and no one has been able to get any answers from the Obsidian Order regarding the Orias system, not even the Detapa Council. The Kraxon has found a neutrino leak. The Defiant under cloak makes a run for the Orias System but they can track them. Dukat orders all ships to pursue but they cannot catch it.

Suddenly three Keldon-class ships appear out of Orias. Korinas seems to be unconcerned that this violates the prohibition of the Obsidian Order to possess any military equipment.

Meanwhile, Thomas Riker refuses to back down now, even though, it is starting to look hopeless. Kira guesses that this is less about the Maquis cause than it is about distinguishing himself from the original Riker.

Sisko makes a deal with Dukat: if he will let them surrender and turn over the ship and crew to the Federation, Sisko will turn over the Defiant's sensor logs which by now contain full scans on the Orias System and whatever the Obsidian Order has been hiding. Dukat agrees only if they keep Riker to punish him for the attacks. Sisko reluctantly agrees provided that Dukat arranges for the Cardassian Ministry of Justice take the death penalty off the table.

The Defiant engages the Cardassian ships. They disable one but three more come to join them. They are out-numbered. Riker is about to continue any way when Sisko and Dukat contact him with their deal. He will be sentenced for life to Lazon IIlabor camp. Kira pleads for him to think of his crew. Riker agrees and is told he must surrender to Gul Ranor on the Kraxon who will protect them from the Obsidian ships. It is a tense moment but the Obsidian ships retreat.

True to his word, Riker transmits the sensor logs to the Kraxon and then beams over. Kira promises him that his crew will get a fair trial and they will come for him one day. Riker then moves to kiss her, then transports to the Kraxon.

"Listen to me! You can't have a runabout! You can not get your medical supplies and I don't give a damn about the colonization schedule! Those colonists can make do with a box of bandages for all I care!"

- Kira

"Looks like you've got your evening all planned out. I hope you left room for... the unexpected."

- Thomas Riker

"The last time I was here, I was only able to spend a couple of hours at Quark's - but by the time I left, I had all of his latinum and a date with one of his dabo girls, so I thought I might try my luck again." (laughs)
"You be careful - Quark's dabo wheel has been a little stingy lately, and one of his dabo girls is dating my son.."

- Thomas Riker and Sisko

"I'd promised to take him to the amusement center in Lakarian City. He always wanted to go, but I never had the time. I told him, 'This year will be different, Mekor. This year I will make the time.'"
"I had the same experience with Jake. At that age, they never understand, do they? You just hope that, one day later, they'll look back and say, 'Now I understand. Now I know why he did that.'"
"When my son looks back on this day, the only thing he'll remember is that a Federation officer, on a Federation ship invaded his home, and kept his father away from him on his eleventh birthday, and he won't look back with understanding. He'll look back with hatred, and that's sad."

- Dukat and Sisko

"No, you're trying to be a hero... and terrorists don't get to be heroes."

Jonathan Frakes always felt that the character of Thomas Riker should have returned to DS9 and that there should have been an episode where Kira fulfilled her promise to rescue him. The producers however, seemed to be uninterested in finishing the story arc, as in the fourth season pitch letter to freelance writers, Tom Riker appeared on the list of subjects that they were not interested in hearing about. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)

It is unknown if William T. Riker visited Quark's during the Enterprise's first visit to DS9 in "Emissary", its second visit in "Birthright, Part I" or another time altogether, though an off-hand comment by Jadzia places his visit closer to that of "Birthright, Part I" ("I met him a year ago"; discussing Riker with Kira).

Although this episode was screened three days after the release of Star Trek Generations, the stardates indicate that it takes place shortly before. This makes sense, as Riker and Sisko's conversation would seem to indicate the Enterprise is still active.